Marcus Tullius Cicero's oration in the defense of Archias Licinius, a poet accused of not being a Roman citizen. This accusation is believed to have been a political move against Lucullus through Archias. The poet was originally Greek but had been living in Rome for an extended period of time. He was acquitted of the charge. Cicero at about age 60, from an ancient marble bust Marcus Tullius Cicero (IPA: ; Classical pronunciation: ; January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was an orator, statesman, political theorist, lawyer and philosopher of Ancient Rome. ... In the Roman Republic and later in the Roman Empire, all men could be very roughly divided into three classes. ...
Furthermore, the rhetorical nature of ProArchiaPoeta implies that the Lex Julia and Lex Plautia Papiria are secondary in Archias’ defense.
Archias remains indispensable as a poet and scholar regardless of the details of his legal status, and Cicero is even convinced of the propriety of awarding Archias citizenship because of his literary contributions to Rome.
ProArchiaPoeta not only remains a profound document of a brilliant legal defense, but is also a tribute to Archias that reflects the importance of literature in Cicero’s training and suggests that literature is an essential part of a proper education.
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